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Thursday, December 23, 2010

Risotto is very quick and easy to prepare. It allows so many options that you almost always will have all the ingredients you need at at home.

Today we are preparing a mushrooms risotto. Of course the principal ingredient is the mushrooms. We are using dry porcini mushrooms, so we are going to hydrate them with hot water for approximately half an hour. While the mushrooms are hydrating we are going to prepare the rest of the ingredients.

We will also use:
- white arborio rice;
- butter (2 tbsp)
- one red onion finely chopped;
- a dash of saffron;
- salt and pepper to taste;
- hot chicken broth (the amount will depend on the amount of rice);
- two tablespoons of sour cream or mascarpone cheese;
- Parmesan cheese;
- One cup of white wine

First we place the chicken stock in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
We start by cooking the onions in the butter on a heavy saucepan until transparent for approximately 5 minutes. While the onion is cooking we'll add the saffron. Once the onion is transparent we add the rice and we make sure that all the grains are covered by the butter and we cook it until they began to crackle. They should be bright and shinny.

After all the rice grains are shinny and separated we add the wine and we stir occasionally until it has been absorbed.

Now it's the moment to start adding the broth. We add one cup at a time. It has to just covered the rice. Stir often and when it has been absorbed add another cup and continue like this until the rice is tender. It should be creamy but a little tough on the middle. In the middle of this process add the mushrooms previously drained.

When the rice is tender add the sour cream or the mascarpone cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Stir it and serve it hot.

approximately 1 quarter of broth per every cup of rice, but we cannot give you an exact quantity. It will depend on how much liquid the rice absorbs until it is tender in the outside. It will also depend on whether you decide to start the cooking with wine or not. Enjoy your risotto and happy new year!